Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב Boker Tov. It's very good to be together on this special ז' אדר Zayin Adar. Today is the seventh day of אדר Adar, both the birthday and the יארצייט yahrtzeit of משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu, a day that we recognize and honor the חברה קדישא Chevra Kadisha. ז' אדר Zayin Adar, I know some of you are looking at me, אדר ראשון Adar Rishon, אדר שני Adar Sheini, is it the first Adar, is it the second Adar, will the real Adar please stand up? We actually spoke about that a little bit last week with a lunch and learn שיעור shiur that we gave about about כפרות פשע kaparas pesha and the institution of ראש חודש Rosh Chodesh. So there's different מנהגים minhagim, there are different customs. משנה ברורה Mishna Berurah sounds like one proper to observe אדר Adar, ז' אדר Zayin Adar and honor the חברה קדישא Chevra Kadisha the first אדר Adar and for that and other reasons we are. But anyway, good to be together on a ז' אדר Zayin Adar, always good to be together no matter what. פרשה Parsha שיעור shiur series is generously sponsored by Becky and Avi Katz and family in loving memory of Becky's father David Grossman, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנש l'iluy nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Manish, and we're very grateful to the Grossmans for their generosity. This morning's שיעור shiur is also sponsored by Shayndee and Elliot Last in commemoration of the yesterday's יארצייט yahrtzeit of Shayndee’s sister ריבה פראנקו Riva Franco, מרים ריבה בת אברהם אפרים ואתל Miriam Riva bas Avraham Ephraim v'Ethel, and in gratitude to Boker Tone synagogue for whatever it is they're grateful for. Thank you so much for your generosity. And by Sandy and Cindy Goldschmidt in זכר נשמת החבר אפרים בן החבר משה יהודה zecher nishmas ha'chaver Ephraim ben ha'chaver Moshe Yehuda, צביה בת אברהם Tzvia bas Avraham, צביה בת אברהם Tzvia bas Avraham and משה בן שמחה Moshe ben Simcha. Big thank you to the Goldschmidts. And all of our learning is dedicated for a speedy, complete and painless רפואה שלמה refuah shleima for אסתר תהילה בת ציפורה Esther Tehila bas Tzipora and for כרמיאל שי בן רזה Carmiel Shai ben Reza. Okay, page 640, 464, page 464 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. And let's begin even before the beginning. How do you begin before the beginning? Before we get to the פרשה Parsha, as I said, today is ז' אדר Zayin Adar and if you go to a ז' אדר Zayin Adar dinner or event tonight for the חברה קדישא Chevra Kadisha, you'll hear more about ז' אדר Zayin Adar. The גמרא מגילה Gemara Megillah tells us Haman's miscalculation. He thought that the seventh of Adar was only an inauspicious day, and that's why he chose it to exterminate the Jewish people, because that was the day of משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu's יארצייט yahrtzeit, that's when he died. That was the day of his demise. What he miscalculated, what it was also the day of his birth. But who cares? He died after his birth. So maybe the fact that the יארצייט yahrtzeit, the death, should be what captures the theme of the day. Where did he go wrong in making a mistake and not recognizing it's the day of his birth? So go to a ז' אדר Zayin Adar dinner for that. That's not what I want to focus on. I want to focus instead on not today, Tuesday, but next Monday night before we'll get together again next week, because that is a little holiday called little holiday. Talk about it's a little holiday. It's called פורים קטן Purim Katan. It's a little holiday. See what I did there? It's a little holiday. The רמ\"א Rama of משה איסרליש Moshe Isserles concludes his commentary on the entire שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch, the section of אורח חיים Orach Chaim, the section of daily living, the six volumes of the משנה ברורה Mishna Berurah that we have that it's divided into. The רמ\"א Rama of Moshe Isserles Krakow, Poland, 16th century, concludes his entire commentary on אורח חיים Orach Chaim with the following words: מכל מקום ירבה קצת סעודה כדי לצאת ידי המחמירים Miko makoim yarbeh ktzas seudah kiday lotzeis yeday hamachmirim. Some people observe פורים קטן Purim Katan, most neglect, don't even acknowledge פורים קטן Purim Katan. It means there are two Adars, which is the real אדר Adar and which is the extra אדר Adar. As I said, that's an entire discussion not for now. We observe Purim in the second Adar. Why? The גמרא's Gemara's conclusion is we're סומכים גאולה לגאולה somchin geulah l'geulah. We observe one redemption adjacent to the other redemption. ניסן Nissan, the great redemption, and please God, what will bring the future redemption, ניסן Nissan, the redemption of פסח Pesach. So we observe the redemption of Purim as close to it, the second Adar. So should you do anything the first Adar? Should we just let it go by? Do we allow the 14th, 15th of אדר ראשון Adar Rishon to pass without even acknowledging it? So the רמ\"א Rama says, no. The רמ\"א Rama says, ירבה קצת בסעודה yarbeh ktzas b'seudah. Jews don't need much of an excuse to have a meal. Have a little לחיים l'chaim, have a little meal. Why? כדי לצאת ידי המחמירים Kiday lotzeis yeday hamachmirim. In order to fulfill the will of those who are strict, and why? טוב לב משתה תמיד Tov lev mishteh tamid. One with a good heart rejoices and celebrates regularly. One with a good heart rejoices and celebrates regularly. And those are the closing words of the רמ\"א Rama on אורח חיים Orach Chaim. That טוב לב משתה תמיד tov lev mishteh tamid. A person has a good heart is always looking for a good party, is always looking for a good excuse to break bread and to smile and to have a good time and to offer hospitality and to enjoy with other people. טוב לב Tov lev, a good heart. In fact, I saw this quote from רב אהרון קרלינר Rav Aharon Karliner. רב אהרון קרלינר Rav Aharon Karliner, the one who wrote כל אכסוף Kol Echsof, the holy, holy שבת Shabbos song that we sing, כל אכסוף Kol Echsof. So רב אהרון קרלינר Rav Aharon Karliner said, העצבות אינה חטא Ha'atzvus eina cheit. Sadness is not a sin. אבל אף חטא לא יוכל לעשות את מה שעושה העצבות Aval af cheit lo yuchal laasos es masha oseh ha'atzvus. Sadness is not a sin, but even sin can't do to you what sadness does. Sadness is not a sin, but even sin can't do to you what sadness does. The notion of of happiness, of the being joyful. We're discussing this in our living with אמונה emunah series right now. And we discussed last week, we'll continue tomorrow, that doesn't mean that there aren't moments of pain, of grief, there aren't moments of difficulty or challenge, there aren't moments that we feel down in the dumps. It's legitimate, it's okay. A person has to honor those feelings, but it means on the whole, or even within those feelings to find the שמחה simcha, to find the שלימות shleimus, to find Hashem even within those moments. So a person makes a mistake, חטא cheit is a mistake. You violate the, you do an עבירה aveira, it's a terrible thing and it's harmful, and there's a negative impact, a residual influence on us, but it can't do what sadness does. When a person becomes hopeless and helpless, when a person is sad, when a person is down and out, when a person gives up, the negative energy with that creates for us. So says the רמ\"א Rama, טוב לב משתה תמיד tov lev mishteh tamid. One with a good heart rejoices and celebrates regularly. It's very interesting that the רמ\"א Rama, I don't want to spend too much time on this, I want to get to the פרשה parsha, but the רמ\"א Rama ends אורח חיים Orach Chaim the way he begins. טוב לב משתה תמיד Tov lev mishteh tamid, the very last word of his commentary on אורח חיים Orach Chaim is תמיד tamid. תמיד Tamid means always, consistently, constantly, continuously. And he begins אורח חיים Orach Chaim the same way. How does the רמ\"א Rama begin אורח חיים Orach Chaim? The רמ\"א Rama begins the laws of השכמת הבוקר hashkamas ha'boker. How are you supposed to wake up in the morning? What is the way to wake up? The רמ\"א Rama says, שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד Shivisi Hashem l'negdi tamid. הוא כלל גדול בתורה Hu klal gadol baTorah. You want to know an important rule, an important principle in Torah? שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד Shivisi Hashem l'negdi tamid. Hashem, you're always opposite me. Everywhere I go. You're not just in שול shul and I don't leave you in the בית מדרש beis medrash and I don't leave you behind when I finish the פרשה Parsha class, and then I go on to the rest of my secular, profane, mundane life. שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד Shivisi Hashem l'negdi tamid, you're everywhere with me. You're in the kitchen, you're in the carpool, you're in the court, you're in the operating room, the boardroom, you're with me wherever I go. שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד Shivisi Hashem l'negdi tamid. Hashem, you're with me always, consistently. So the רמ\"א Rama both begins and ends אורח חיים Orach Chaim with the same word: תמיד tamid. תמיד Tamid is the very definition of what it means to be a a Jew. In fact, the שערי תשובה Shaarei Teshuvah quotes a practice of writing these words, שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד Shivisi Hashem l'negdi tamid, on a piece of paper and putting them in your סידור siddur. Make it the home screen of your smartphone. Make it the sticker outside your laptop. Make it to be what's on our mind all the time. I'm never without you. I can lean on you, and I can count on you, and I thank you, and I protest you, and I feel that your presence at my side all the time, always and forever, you're always around me. This notion of the תמיד tamid that the רמ\"א Rama both begins and ends אורח חיים Orach Chaim with, one should always feel that they're in the presence, that they have the support, the love of Hashem, that He's aware of and holds us accountable for all we do, all the time and always. That's the way we wake up in the morning, the way that we greet the day. יתגבר כארי Yisgaber ka'ari, we jump up and we wake up like a lion. We don't just schlep out of day, 17 snoozes, and we crawl on hands and knees to go splash the water on our face, and we're miserable, we'd rather get back in bed. But we יתגבר כארי yisgaber ka'ari, we greet the day like a lion with a roar. We wake up to greet the day. Every day is filled with promise and possibility. Every day is hope and optimism. Every day is sunshine and every day is is illumination, is brightness. We jump up and we greet that day so glad, so grateful, so hopeful each and every day. But with a sense of שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד Shivisi Hashem l'negdi tamid, Hashem, I'm greeting the day and I'm a lion, I'm going to kill it. But what am I going to kill it in? Business? Am I going to kill it in גשמיות gashmius, some materialism? I'm going to kill it in feeling you're by my side, living with you, talking to you, being grateful to you. The רמ\"א Rama ends the same way, פורים קטן Purim Katan, next week, we don't always have it. It's only in a leap year. פורים קטן Purim Katan, have a little סעודה seudah. Why? Because a happy person is always happy to have another סעודה seudah, have a לחיים l'chaim. Why? Doesn't matter, לחיים l'chaim. Because you're alive, to life. We're alive, לחיים l'chaim. To life. The רמ\"א Rama opens and closes the same way. In his introduction to עין יעקב Ein Yaakov, a commentary on the aggadic sections of the גמרא Gemara, רב יעקב אבן חביב Rav Yaakov ibn Chaviv quotes a מדרש Medrash. It's a מדרש Medrash nobody's found. It's a מדרש Medrash we don't seem to have extant, which means it's not even really ever a מדרש Medrash, or we lost the מדרש Medrash, but we have a tradition of this מדרש Medrash. And many are familiar with it. I don't want to belabor the point, but this does connect to our פרשה Parsha. The מדרש Medrash had a debate. There was a rabbinic conference and convention. If I was going to take the time, I would paint a picture of how they were at the Homewreck, and they served Chinese food, and all the rabbis were there for this conference. And they had a big debate and a big question of what פסוק pasuk, what verse in the Torah most accurately, most authentically captures the essence of what Torah is about. What is the bumper sticker? What is the motto of the Jewish people? So בן זומא Ben Zoma says, שמע ישראל ה' אלוקינו ה' אחד Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad. What do you mean? What's the motto of the Jewish people? The uniqueness, the oneness of Hashem. What is the motto of the Jewish people? What is the mission statement of the life of a Jew? It's קבלת עול מלכות שמים kabbalas ol malchus shamayim. To recognize that we submit and surrender to Him. How many people, these were the last words on their lips, as they were martyrs, they gave their lives for being Jews? This is, להבדיל l'havdil, what every parent puts their child to bed every night. Let's say שמע Shema, don't forget to say שמע Shema. So בן זומא Ben Zoma says, what's the motto? What's the bumper sticker? It's easy. The mission statement is שמע Shema. רבי עקיבא Rabbi Akiva, who himself said שמע Shema when he was murdered by the Romans, but did not suggest it was שמע Shema. He claims there's a more important פסוק pasuk. And רבי עקיבא Rabbi Akiva learned this likely after 24,000 of his own students died, שלא כבוד זה בזה shelo kavu kavod zeh b'zeh, because they did not figure out with all their Torah learning, with all their scholarship, with all their strictness, they did not figure out how to just be nice to one another. So רבי עקיבא Rabbi Akiva says, you know what the motto and the mission statement of the Jew is? ואהבת לרעך כמוך, זה כלל גדול בתורה V'ahavta l'reiacha kamocha, zeh klal gadol baTorah. Love your neighbor as yourself, that's it. Now who's the neighbor? Love Hashem, love the people, and both, love. Be a person who loves. Don't be a person who fights. There are fighters and there are lovers. Be a lover and not a fighter. There are people who love to fight. What the fight is on any particular day, you could, you know, find and replace, cut and paste. You could substitute. That day's fight, they have yet to figure out what it's going to be. All they know is there's going to be a fight. There are people who love to fight. They want to fight, they look to fight, they love to fight. They get some cortisol or adrenaline release from the fight. They love to fight. So רבי עקיבא Rabbi Akiva sees his students are fighters, and he says, stop being fighters, be lovers. Love everybody, ואהבת לרעך כמוך v'ahavta l'reiacha kamocha. Love Hashem, love your fellow man, be a lover. But then there's a third opinion. And the third opinion is a פסוק pasuk from our פרשה Parsha, it's תצוה Tetzaveh, and it is, את הכבש אחד תעשה בבוקר ואת הכבש השני תעשה בין הערבים es ha'keves echad ta'aseh baboker v'es ha'keves hasheini ta'aseh bein ha'arbaim. Offer one sheep in the morning, offer one sheep in the afternoon, the קרבן תמיד korban tamid. The קרבן תמיד korban tamid was offered, the נר תמיד ner tamid we read about in the beginning of the פרשה Parsha we'll read in one moment, the opening פסוק pasuk, and the קרבן תמיד korban tamid, the daily sacrifice. In fact, we fast on שבעה עשר בתמוז Shiva Asar B'Tammuz. We fast, we launch the three weeks, the opening fast that launches the three weeks of grieving, of mourning, שבעה עשר בתמוז Shiva Asar B'Tammuz, the five reasons that are given at the end of מסכת תענית Maseches Taanis, and one of the reason is בטל הקרבן תמיד buttel ha'korban tamid. We had this daily sacrifice and we offered it rain, sleet, snow, שבת Shabbos, יום טוב Yom Tov, יום כיפור Yom Kippur didn't matter, 365 days a year, the daily sacrifice was offered every morning and every afternoon. You know, I got a taste of this גמרא Gemara a little bit. When two years ago, we're approaching the anniversary, of that fateful day we sat in my office and we spoke to the hospital, the head of the hospital, and he asked us, he beseeched us, you got to close down the שול shul. Remember the two weeks we closed in order to flatten the curve? Two weeks have become two years, but the two weeks to flatten the curve, when we closed down that שול shul, was a Friday, and שול shul, that שבת Shabbos was desolate, was empty. There was a מנין minyan here every single day since the opening of שול shul. Every morning and every evening. Even during the hurricanes. When we had hurricanes and we were able, there wasn't a full 24-hour period, there wasn't a מנין minyan. They make fun of me because I missed a מנין minyan during the hurricane. Rabbi Klein, זכרונו לברכה zichrono l'vracha, Holocaust survivor who was in his 80s, found his way to שול shul in the middle of the hurricane. Okay, he was built tougher, clearly. But even during the hurricanes, we had מנינים minyanim. So when we closed the שול shul down, the significance of something you're used to, תמיד tamid, every single day, dependable, reliable, predictable, and it stops. It gets closed down, it's shuttered. It's painful. So we fast every year on שבעה עשר בתמוז Shiva Asar B'Tammuz because we remember among the five calamities, among the five traumatic things we still haven't collectively recovered from yet, was בטל הקרבן תמיד buttel ha'korban tamid. You could count on it, you could set your watch to it every morning, every evening, the קרבן תמיד korban tamid was offered. Every day, it superseded שבת Shabbos, יום טוב Yom Tov, יום כיפור Yom Kippur every single day. And we were prevented, the Babylonians, in the first חורבן churban, they stopped it. Wow. So this is the קרבן תמיד korban tamid. So can you imagine they have a, they have a vote. It's the Homewreck, all the rabbis are there, they've eaten three egg rolls, bunch of lo mein, and now they take the vote. And what's the vote? בן זומא Ben Zoma says, most important פסוק pasuk is שמע Shema. Rabbi Akiva says, no, no, no, no, no. Be a lover, not a fighter, ואהבת לרעך כמוך v'ahavta l'reiacha kamocha. And the third opinion says, I think the bumper sticker for the Jewish people, the home screen of every one of our phones, the bumper sticker on our car and on our dashboard and the bathroom mirror should all be את הכבש אחד תעשה בבוקר es ha'keves echad ta'aseh baboker. Are you kidding me? שמע Shema, ואהבת v'ahavta, I get. את הכבש אחד תעשה בבוקר Es ha'keves echad ta'aseh baboker? So they took a vote, the מדרש Medrash relates, and the vote concluded that which one is the motto, the mission statement of the Jew? Of course it's the third, otherwise I would not be telling you this toda. את הכבש אחד תעשה בבוקר Es ha'keves echad ta'aseh baboker. The קרבן תמיד korban tamid, the daily. Why? Because you know what the real mission and motto statement of a motto and mission statement of a Jew is? Consistency, continuity, reliability, dependability. Not a fair-weather fan. Not when it feels good. Not when it's convenient. Not when it's comfortable. תמיד Tamid, consistent, regular, dependable, reliable. You can't just be a mensch when you have a mindset. You can't just do מצוות mitzvos when you're home, not when you're on vacation, not when you're on the road. You don't just talk to Hashem when you're in the mood, when you're feeling spiritual, when you're on a high. תמיד Tamid. So the רמ\"א Rama both begins and ends his commentary on שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch, the הלכה halacha. שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד Shivisi Hashem l'negdi tamid. Hashem, you're with me always. You're not only with me when I think you'll be happy with what I'm watching or saying or listening to or eating. You're with me always when I'm choosing what to watch or listen to or say or how to fill out my tax return or what to do with my time or where I go on my vacation. And טוב לב משתה תמיד tov lev mishteh tamid, פורים קטן Purim Katan, you're also with me when I choose to feel שמחה simcha. Happiness is a decision, not an emotion. Again, we're talking about on Wednesday mornings. So you're with me, תמיד tamid, consistent, constant, reliable, dependable. That's who I am, that's how the רמ\"א Rama both begins and ends his his commentary, and that's what we need, that's what we are, and all, that's what we are all about. Vince Lombardi says the only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. You want to accomplish in life, physically, spiritually, relationship, in any area of life, תמיד tamid, consistency. All right, so that's a little פורים קטן Purim Katan and a little פרשה Parsha, but now let's dive right into the פרשה Parsha more directly with the opening פסוק pasuk, page 464. ואתה תצוה את בני ישראל ויקחו אליך שמן זית זך כתית למאור להעלות נר תמיד Ve'ata tetzaveh es Bnei Yisrael v'yikchu eilecha shemen zayis zach kasis la'maor l'haalos ner tamid. Command the children of Israel, they should take to you pure olive oil pressed for illumination to kindle a lamp continuously. תמיד Tamid, here we see תמיד tamid again repeated. We also see a definition of תמיד tamid, by the way. The קרבן תמיד korban tamid was not offered all day every day, it was offered in the morning and the evening. And there's a big מחלוקת machlokes about the נר תמיד ner tamid, the candelabra, did it burn continuously or was it lit daily? But you see that one definition of תמיד tamid is daily. Doesn't necessarily mean all day, but it means daily. It means whatever you were meant to do daily, whatever commitment you made, you show up, you're reliable, you're dependable, you do it. You don't break that record. So if you make a commitment, I'm not going to look at my phone during דאווענען davening, you don't want to break that record. You don't want to break that streak. If you learn the דף יומי Daf Yomi, 2,711 pages in a row, you don't want to break that streak. That's the קרבן תמיד korban tamid, that's the definition of regularly. ואתה Ve'ata, who's ואתה ve'ata, you? You command בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael and here's what you should tell them. Get some olives, crush them for some olive oil, and use it for the candelabra, for the לייכטער leichter, for the מנורה menorah in the משכן Mishkan. Who's you, ואתה ve'ata, and you? Who's the and you? This is not a trick question. Audience participation is allowed. Who's and you? משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu. So in fact, in fact, ז' אדר Zayin Adar falls out in פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh. By the way, this is why it seems from the משנה ברורה Mishna Berurah, it's more appropriate for the חברה קדישא Chevra Kadisha to observe the first ז' אדר Zayin Adar because it coincides with פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh, and ז' אדר Zayin Adar Moshe left the world. Moshe's name doesn't appear in פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh ostensibly, though it's not true, Moshe's name appears in every פרשה parsha from when we are introduced to him in שמות Shemos through the end of the Torah. This is the one פרשה Parsha it doesn't appear. Why doesn't it appear here? מחני נא מספרך אשר כתבת Mecheini na m'sifrecha asher kasavta. Because next week Moshe will threaten, God erase me from your book. So Hashem says, okay, don't bluff because I will. And he erases him from the book, and he leaves him out of פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh. Only he doesn't. And how does he not leave him out of פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh? Where does he appear in פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh? In the word ואתה ve'ata, and you. And the Baba Rebbe, זכר צדיק לברכה zecher tzadik l'vracha, in ליקוטי שיחות Likkutei Sichos explains, we've spoken about this in the past, you can listen to I think last year or two years ago שיעור shiur, says, in fact, Moshe being referred to as ואתה ve'ata, a pronoun, is an even higher, deeper, more authentic reflection of who Moshe is than using his name. A name limits a person, and you is the essence. A name is a description of a person, but in some ways is a limitation of the person. But we rise even above our name. We are so much more than just our name. Who we are, our essence, who we are when no one is around, the who we are that nobody sees or knows, the קדש הקדשים Kodesh HaKodashim in us, that we spoke about last week and we wrote about last week, the פרוכת paroches that separates the קדש הקדשים Kodesh HaKodashim, the capacity to still have a private place, inner thoughts, that ואתה ve'ata, the and you, is an even higher and even holier, we spoke about it last week. The בעל הטורים Baal Turim points out that the word ואתה ve'ata is אתה ולא אחר ata v'lo acher. The בעל הטורים Baal Turim says, ואתה ve'ata, Moshe, you and nobody else. אתה ולא שליחך Ata v'lo shlichecha, you and not through an agent, you and not through someone you appoint, you directly. What was so important about crushing the olive oil? What was so important about kindling the מנורה menorah that it had to be משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu directly, ואתה ve'ata, you and not anybody else? Didn't יתרו Yisro just teach Moshe about delegating? Delegating is a key and core character trait, a quality for a efficient, productive executive. If you want to be successful, you have to learn how to delegate. So maybe Moshe will hear the instruction and delegate. Hey, you go tell them they need to light the מנורה menorah, crush the olives. Why did it have to be Moshe specifically? A לשון ציווי lashon tzivui, the מנורה menorah and the קרבן תמיד korban tamid. שני נוהגים בכל יום ויש לו אדם חסרון כיס לכן לא מספיק לאמר לו, אלא צריך לצוות אותו. So why does it need תצוה tetzaveh, command? Command is harsh, not request, not share, not ask, not tell, command. I command you, command you, it's very harsh, very strong. Why did this require a command and why did it have to be Moshe Rabbeinu directly? And the answer is, because both the מנורה menorah and the קרבן תמיד korban tamid have to be done daily. And you know what, it is very hard to be consistent. It's really hard to be consistent. We get excited, we get pumped, we get that high, we get inspired. We join the gym, we start running, we start doing squats and lunges, we start doing a plank, we start accepting upon ourselves not to speak לשון הרע lashon hara between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. We're to say this many תהילים Tehillim or I'm going to start the דף יומי Daf Yomi, the משנה יומי Mishna Yomi. Last שבת Shabbos I attended a beautiful kudos and accolades to the women of our community, made a סיום על תנ\"ך siyum on Tanach. It was a beautiful קידוש Kiddush שבת Shabbos morning. An amazing group of women, including two 12-year-old girls in our community who finished תנ\"ך Tanach. There were many more who started תנ\"ך Tanach. Many, many more who started תנ\"ך Tanach. But to get to the finish line of תנ\"ך Tanach, it's a whole other story. To make it to the very end, it's unbelievable. So תמיד tamid, to do something consistently, continuously, to make it to the finish line, תצוה tetzaveh requires strong language, command. We have to invigorate ourselves. The רמח\"ל Ramchal in מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim talks about זריזות zrizus. There are two זריזות zrizus. You need a זריזות zrizus, you need an alacrity and an enthusiasm to start a project. That we all know. You hear a דרשה drasha, a motivational speaker, you see, you read, you saw something, it moves you, it inspires you, that's it, a project. I'm redoing my home. I'm starting דף יומי Daf Yomi. I'm volunteering for חסד chesed. I'm gonna get my health and wellness in order. Whatever it is, we get excited, a זריזות zrizus at the beginning. But then there's a proverbial wall that we run into. And how do you climb over or through or around or under that wall? You need a second burst of זריזות zrizus. The רמח\"ל Ramchal talks about, in מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim, that that quality of when you hit that wall and most others give up, how do you persevere? How do you fight through? How do you keep doing it? And how do you finish what you started? So תצוה tetzaveh, these are two things, the מנורה menorah and the קרבן תמיד korban tamid, they require תמיד tamid. So that which requires תמיד tamid needs a little extra, needs a little extra urge, a little extra encouragement. Moreover, both of them cost something. We spoke about this last week. I got a beautiful donation from somebody in the New York area with an email. They chose to remain anonymous. They said, I heard the שיעור shiur on פרשת תרומה Parshas Terumah and I dug deep into my pocket, even though I had already allocated all my צדקה tzedakah, but message heard and I made this donation to Boker Tone Synagogue. It's very beautiful, very, very beautiful and to that person, if they're watching, thank you, deeply appreciated. So חסרון כיס chesron kis, when something cost something, you also need a לשון תצוה lashon tetzaveh. You also need a command, you also need an encouragement, you also need an urge. So you need the two things here. But we still need to understand, that answer is why לשון תצוה lashon tetzaveh. But why Moshe himself? ואתה Ve'ata, you, not anyone else. Don't delegate, don't hand it off, you and not through an agent, not anyone else. Why? So in the ספר מצפה עליון sefer Mitzpeh Elyon, it's a beautiful ספר sefer we've been going through, which is a collection of בעלי מוסר Baalei Mussar on the פרשה Parsha. He quotes, and he says the following. He says משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu was an enormous role model in this area. It took a משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu asking and encouraging them to do it because he had done it themselves and they all saw it. When did Moshe, when did he show a selfless מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh, a willingness to forgo financial gain to serve Hashem? When? Where? Where did we see it? פרשת בשלח Parshas Beshalach. Who said that? שכוח Shkoyach. פרשת בשלח Parshas Beshalach. They crossed the sea, the sea miraculously closes on the Egyptian chariots that are laden with gold and silver. They're ornate with all kinds of jewels. They wash up onto the bank of the sea, and every Jew is stuffing everything they can into their pockets. We spoke about this פרשת בשלח Parshas Beshalach. In מצרים Mitzrayim, they hesitated, they didn't want to take. Now they can't get enough. What happened between? We spoke about that פרשת בשלח Parshas Beshalach. So everyone's stuffing their pockets, everyone's collecting in their arms as much as they can, and they needed to be pulled from the edge of the sea. They just wanted more and more and more security, financial stability, wealth, after 210 years of slavery. משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu, he's not collecting one thing for himself. You know what he's busy collecting? עצמות יוסף Atzmos Yosef. The bones of Yosef, he's fulfilling a promise that had been made years before. He is carrying not only the עצמות atzmos, the bones of Yosef, he's carrying the עצמיות יוסף atzmus Yosef, the essence of Yosef. And the essence of Yosef is in a moment of temptation, desire and lust to overcome. Yosef had proved that and put it in us, that is the עצמות atzmus, the essence of Yosef and משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu chooses to carry the עצמיות יוסף atzmus Yosef, the essence of Yosef, the perseverance and the tenacity to overcome temptation, desire, to do what's right. That's what he's carrying rather than the wealth, rather than the gold. So we see from here מכאן למד גדול מחנכים וכל מי שרוצה להשפיע על זולתו שצריך בראש ובראשונה לקדש שם שמים בהנהגותיו להיות דוגמא אישית במעשיו mikan lamad gadol mechanechim v'chol mi sh'rotzeh l'hashpia al zulaso, she'tzarich b'rosh v'rishona l'kadeish shem shamayim b'hanhagosav l'hiyos dugma ishis b'maasav. You can't just lecture and give lip service. You can't just dictate and tell. You have to practice. You have to be a living example. What we say has to match what we do. Ralph Waldo Emerson, I can't hear what you're saying because your actions are speaking so loudly. Our actions have to reinforce what we say or what we say rather has to reinforce what we do. So Moshe Rabbeinu had proven, he had lived this, and now ואתה תצוה v'ata tetzaveh when he says it's going to cost you, it's not going to be easy, you're going to have to be consistent, you're going to have to find the tenacity and the resilience, Moshe was in the position to be able to tell them and to lecture them because he had also lived it. ויקחו אליך שמן זית זך V'yikchu eilecha shemen zayis zach, you have to take to yourself, שמן זית זך shemen zayis zach. I saw the אמרי חיים Emrei Chaim, אמרי חיים Emrei Chaim, the Vishnitzer says, תצוה Tetzaveh, לשון צוותא lashon tzavvus, means to connect. קשר Kesher, a bond. ואתה Ve'ata, Hashem is telling Moshe here something. You, תצוה tetzaveh, bond, connect, את בני ישראל es Bnei Yisrael, connect with the Jewish people. How? ויקחו אליך V'yikchu eilecha, draw them close to you. You, משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu are up here. You, משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu, you're משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu, you're the greatest human being that ever lived. It's one of the 13 principles of faith to believe that Moshe is categorically different than all others. So you Moshe, you're up here. But you know how you get close to the people, ויקחו אליך v'yikchu eilecha. Come down to them. Be close to them, be connected with them. ויקחו אליך V'yikchu eilecha, bond with them. תצוה, לשון צוותא Tetzaveh, lashon tzavvus. ויקחו אליך שמן זית זך V'yikchu eilecha shemen zayis zach, pure olive oil, כתית למאור kasis la'maor, it has to be crushed for the purpose of illuminating, you're going to use it in the in the משכן Mishkan. The מדרש Medrash Rabbah tells us, זית רענן יפה פרי תואר קרא ה' שמך, כי לא נקרא ישראל אלא כזית Zayis ra'anan yafeh pri toar kara Hashem shemech, ki lo nikra Yisrael ela k'zayis. The Jewish people are like to this olive. The Jewish people are like to the olive. מה זית הזה, עד שהוא באילנו, מגרגרים אותו ואחר כך מורידים אותו מהעץ ונכבת ומשנכבת מורידים אותו לגת וטוחנים אותו, ואחר כך מקיפים אותו בקבלים ומביאים אבנים ואחר כך נותן שמנו Ma zayis hazeh, ad shehu be'ilanav, migargerim oso, v'achar kach moridim oso mei'eitz, v'nechbat, v'she'nechbat, moridim oso l'gas, v'tochnim oso, v'achar kach makifim oso b'kavalim, u'mevi'im avanim v'achar kach nosein shmeno. This olive takes a beating. The way the olive first grows on the tree, and then the way it's harvested and plucked, and then you smash it and you smoosh it, and then you put it into the press, and then you put an enormous stone, you roll it over it, you press it, you smoosh it, you kick it, you beat it, and only then do you get the delicious, the beautiful olive oil that flows. Says the מדרש Medrash, כך ישראל, באים אומות העולם ממקום למקום וחובטים אותו ואחר כך עושים תשובה kach Yisrael, ba'im umos ha'olam, mi'makom l'makom v'chovtin oso, v'achar kach osim teshuvah. The nations of the world, the anti-Semites, ימח שמם וזכרם yimakh shemam v'zichram, they come, they crush, they beat, they step on. And then we, the Jewish people, we repent from having been stepped on and smooshed and creamed and squeezed, then we do תשובה teshuvah and we say, that's not who we want to be. We have to live better, earn more, earn more merit, not earn more profit. And הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu answers them. And הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu answers, שנאמר, בצר לך ומצאוך כל הדברים האלה she'ne'emar, b'tzar lach u'metzaucha kol hadevarim ha'eileh. And we say זית רענן יפה פרי תואר zayis ra'anan yafeh pri toar. So the question of Rav Yechezkel Levenstein, the משגיח Mashgiach of the Ponevitch, wonders, I don't understand. We started out and it sounded like Hashem loves us and we're like the olive that we're beautiful and radiate on the tree, and then we get squeezed and scrashed and but a beautiful olive oil comes out. It sounds like what is worth more? I don't know if it's the gardener or a blender or what's going on back there. But anyone could feel free to ask them to resume at 10:30. Thank you. שכוייח Shkoyach. Someone's going, thank you. Deeply appreciate it. So, which is worth more? You go to the store, what costs more? Olive oil, pure olive oil, or olives? Olive oil. Olive oil is worth more. Pure olive oil. We use olive oil in cooking, olive oil is used in skincare, olive oil is used in fragrance, olive oil is used in all kinds of important things. So it sounds like the מדרש Medrash was telling us that when you squeeze and crush and step on and smush, the olive oil that comes out is more precious and more valuable. So to with the Jewish people. Those anti-Semites they're trying to exterminate and destroy us, but you know what happens? We become better, stronger, more resilient, more focused, more faithful. What comes out is even stronger. But then the מדרש Medrash ends by saying, so to the Jewish people who do תשובה tshuva and realize that they're lowly, crushed, good for nothing, and then they do תשובה tshuva and they're proven worthy and now they're like olive oil. So, what happened? What happened?So he says, ישראל נמשלו לזית, למדנו Yisrael nimshalu l'zayis, l'madnu. to teach us. To teach us, שכשם שהזית למראש שפירותיו נאום ומובחרים ושמנו משובח, אונם זה לא מגיע בקלות shekeshem shehazayis l'marosh shepeirosav naim u'muvcharim u'shmano meshubach, onam zeh lo magiah b'kalus. So a lot a lot of lessons that we learn out of the olive and the comparison to the Jew. Number one is, you do not get the olive oil out of the olive easily. You want some lemon juice on your fish? Yeah, you squeeze the lemon, and you got lemon juice on your fish. You want some orange juice? Give a shtickel squeeze to the orange, you have some orange juice. You want an olive oil? You don't squeeze the olive. Anyone make their own olive oil at home? People make orange juice. Make grapefruit juice. Make lemon juice. But olive oil? You got to squeeze and crush and step on and press. Takes a lot of work. לא מגיע בקלות Lo magiah b'kalus, doesn't come easily. הדרשה זה גיא טרחה עצומה עד שמוציאין השמן. כך ישראל לא מגיעים למעלת העצומות שהקדוש ברוך הוא השריש בהם בדרך קלה Hadresha zeh gia tircha atzuma ad shemotzi'in hashman. Kach Yisrael lo magi'im l'ma'alas ha'atzumos she'Hakadosh Baruch Hu hishrish bahem b'derech kallah. So too, we don't realize and recognize the incredible potential and power, the potency we have within ourselves without being pressed and squeezed, without being pushed. This is the idea of a נסיון nisayon. We've spoken about this many times before as well. That אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu and all of our אבות Avos underwent נסיונות nisyonos. They underwent tests. Because through a test, we bring out, we take it from the potential into the real. It's only when we're pressed against the wall that we're forced to realize within ourselves possibility we never knew. Many in this room, many we all know, have gone through very, very hard times. We wonder, we ask, and we wish it didn't happen, and all that is true. And all that is true. But afterwards, we realize and discover things about ourselves that if we're honest, we admit, we never ever would have discovered or realized had we not been put through that situation to begin with. Still doesn't necessarily mean we're grateful for it, we want it or wish it, but we grew and we realized in ways we never otherwise would have. So when we go through those hardships and those difficult times, we have to look for and extract and capture and then advance whatever it is that we learned. Moreover, moreover, another connection. This is brought by Rav Boruch Sorotzkin, the Rosh Yeshiva of Telshe. He says, ah. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem.צריך להבין Tzarich l'havin. מה דמיון בין שמן לישראל Ma dimyon bein shemen l'Yisrael? Why are the Jewish people likened to oil? השמן כח מציאותי וטבעי שאינו יכול להתערב עם שאר משקים Hashemen koach metziusi v'tiv'i she'eino yachol l'hisarev im shar mashkim. You know, oil can't mix with any other liquid. Oil always stays separate. מה שאין כן בישראל ואומות, אמנם יש בכך איסור. מה דמיון לשמן Ma she'ein kein b'Yisrael v'umos, omnam yesh b'kach issur. Ma dimyon l'shemen? So Rav Boruch Sorotzkin says, הדברים כפשוטם had'varim k'pshutam. ישראל מעצם טבעם אינם יכולים להתערב בגוים Yisrael mei'etzem tivam einam yecholim l'hisarev bagoyim. שכך הם בנויים ממציאות רוחנית שאינה נראית לעיני בשר ודם. וגם אלו שחלילה עזבו אינם מדובקים מזה בזה רק נשארים לעולם נפרדם Shekach heim b'nuyim mimetzius ruchnis she'eina nires l'einei basar v'dam. V'gam eilu shechalilah azvu, einam medubakim mizeh bazeh, rak nisharim l'olam nifradim. What was his question? His question was, you can shake up the salad dressing, but when you set it down and it rests, the olive oil is always going to separate from the water. It's nature. Science. We believe in science. It's science. The olive oil is always going to separate from the other liquid. So why are the Jewish people compared to olive oil? It's over 70% intermarriage rate. רחמנא ליצלן Rachmana litzlan. Outside the Orthodox today, it's over seven, more than seven out of 10 Jews are not going to marry a Jew. How can you say we don't mix? We have an איסור issur not to mix, but there is a mixture. So Rav Boruch Sorotzkin, the Rosh Yeshiva of Telshe says, it's as inherent, it should be as natural within the Jew to stay separate and to realize that we have a different responsibility and we're here for a different mission. It should be as natural, it should be as scientific. It should be as built into the בריאה bria as olive and and water, as oil and water not mixing. He doesn't mention this, but this is what we say in הבדלה Havdalah every מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos. בין ישראל לעמים Bein Yisrael la'amim. On the one hand, we participate in, we contribute to, we take from society around us. We've said it countless times, אברהם אבינו, גר ותושב אנכי עמכם Avraham Avinu, ger v'toshav anochi imachem. We're a גר ger, we're a stranger and a תושב toshav at the same time, simultaneously. But really in our essence, in our core, when we say הבדלה Havdalah every מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos, we come out of שבת Shabbos and we remind ourselves, here are the core principles, here are the core values. A Jew needs to distinguish between holy and profane. A Jew needs to distinguish between שבת Shabbos and the rest of the days of the week. And a Jew needs to distinguish between the Jewish people and the rest of the world. That even while we contribute to and take from, but we have to remember we're different. And our differences are not superimposed upon us. Our differences are natural. They're built into the בריאה bria. They're programmed and they are and they are real. Okay. What is the purpose of the בגדי כהונה Bigdei Kehuna? So we go from here, I'll just pose a question you can think about and come back to another time, that this section that began about squeezing the olives, the olive oil, the candelabra, does it belong here? Doesn't belong here. Where does it belong? פרשת אמור Parshas Emor. Here we're hearing about the materials and the designs for the utensils, last week's פרשה parsha, for the בגדי כהונה Bigdei Kehuna this week's פרשה parsha. What is this doing here? Doesn't belong. The whole first two פסוקים pesukim of our פרשה parsha do not belong here. Why were they put here between תרומה Terumah and the beginning of תצווה Tetzaveh? Why are they here? They don't belong here. What makes much more sense is should start from פסוק ג Pasuk Gimel. And you even see that in the break of the פרקים prakim. Really the פרשה parsha should begin פרק כח פסוק ג Perek Chaf Ches, Pasuk Gimel. ואתה תקרב אליך את אהרן אחיך ובניו אתו מתוך בני ישראל לכהנו לי V'atah takriv eilecha es Aharon achicha v'es banav ito mitoch bnei Yisrael l'chahano li. And now, bring yourself Aharon, your brother, with his sons, and from among the children, bring them close to me. אהרן, נדב, ואביהוא, אלעזר ואיתמר, בני אהרן Aharon, Nadav, v'Avihu, Elazar v'Isamar, bnei Aharon. Bring Aharon and his sons. And then we again list Aharon, and now we list his sons. נדב ואביהוא אלעזר ואיתמר בני אהרן Nadav v'Avihu, Elazar v'Isamar, Bnei Aharon, the sons of Aharon. If I've ever seen redundancy, it's here. Moshe is told, bring Aharon your brother and his sons close. Who are they? אהרן, נדב, ואביהוא, אלעזר ואיתמר Aharon, Nadav, v'Avihu, Elazar v'Isamar. Who are the sons of your brother Aharon? Pasuk makes no sense. Does it bother any of you? You don't look like it bothers you. Come on, show me a face like it bothers you.So we're not going to give an answer, but I want you to think about that. Why the redundancy? Why do we repeat? Why is the pasuk structured in that very bizarre way? But why is Moshe supposed to bring them close? ועשית בגדי קודש לאהרן אחיך V'asisa bigdei kodesh l'Aharon achicha. It's time to make clothing for your brother. לכבוד ולתפארת L'chavod ul'sifares. And what is the purpose of this clothing? Purpose of the clothing is לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod ul'sifares. לכבוד ולתפארת L'chavod ul'sifares. So we'll go from one Telsher to another. We quoted Rav Boruch Sorotzkin and now we go to the מגיד יוסף Maggid Yosef. Now we go to Rav Yosef Yehuda Leib Sorotzkin in his מגיד יוסף Maggid Yosef. And he says the following. Not only is there a question of what does it mean that the clothing is לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod ul'sifares. What does it mean that the clothing, the purpose of the clothing is for wisdom and splendor, for glory and splendor? But moreover, fast forward. Go to פסוק ג Pasuk Gimel. Now the פסוק pasuk says, ואתה תדבר אל כל חכמי לב V'atah tedaber el kol chachmei lev, I want you to go find tailors and seamstresses, and what's that? אשר מלאתיו רוח חכמה ועשו את בגדי אהרן Asher mileisiv ruach chachma v'asu es bigdei Aharon. They're gonna make the clothing that I just told you about. And a moment ago I told you that the purpose of the clothing is what? It's a good brand, someone should make the brand, brand of clothing, כבוד ולתפארת Kavod ul'sifares. And now he says, but what's the purpose? לקדשו לכהנו לי L'kadesho l'chano li. to sanctify and to serve me. So which is it? Wonders the מגיד יוסף Maggid Yosef. Is the purpose of the בגדי כהונה Bigdei Kehuna, are the purpose of the priestly garments, are they לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod ul'sifares? Are they for glory and splendor? Or are they for לקדשו לכהנו לי l'kadesho l'chano li? To sanctify and to serve me, which is it? מדוע אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא למשה בגדי כהונה צריכים להיות לכבוד ולתפארת, ויתר חכמי לב נצטוו שיעשו לקדשו לכהנו לי Madua amar Hakadosh Baruch Hu l'Moshe bigdei kehuna tzrichim l'hiyos l'chavod ul'sifares, ve'yeter chachmei lev nitzatvu she'ya'asu l'kadesho l'chano li? So he says he quotes the זוהר Zohar. The זוהר Zohar says הקדוש ברוך הוא כביכול יש שותף לעשיית הבגדים Hakadosh Baruch Hu kivyachol yesh shutaf l'asiyas habegadim. כביכול Kivyachol, should we say he's shushing him in his hand, he says, \"Shush.\" He tells the tailor, \"You think you're the only one operating the sewing machine? You think you're the one making the clothing? I'm right in it with you. I'm your partner. I'm your partner.\" והבגדים נעשו ידי נהורא עילאה ונהורא תתאה, כולא כחדא V'habegadim na'asu yedei nahora ila'ah v'nahora tata'ah, kula k'chada. It means that, שהכוונה בעשיית הבגדים צריכים להיות מעין הדבר שעשו. בקדושה ובטהרה עילאית, לקדש ולהטהר לי she'hakavana b'asiyas habegadim tzrichim l'hiyos mei'ein hadavar she'asu. B'kedusha u'v'tahara ila'is, l'kadesh ul'taher li. You, the producers, the manufacturers of this holy and sacred clothing, you need to know while you're doing it, that you're doing it to advance and serve a holy purpose. בן אדם יושב ודם מרחש על היופי, מייפש אשר מרחש Ben adam yoshev v'dam marchesh al hayofi, meyefesh asher marchesh. We're physical beings and we value the aesthetic, we see the beauty and we appreciate beauty. We appreciate beauty, we appreciate quality. וזו דרך התבוססותו, מתוך הכרת כוח הזריזות, נצטווה בני מצוה, זה קלי ואנוהו U'zu derech hisbos'suso, mitoch hakaras koach hazrizus, nitzatva bnei mitzvah, zeh Keli v'anveihu. There's nothing wrong with appreciating the aesthetic. We appreciate beauty. It has value. There's godliness in beauty. It's one of the wisdoms is aesthetic beauty. That's why זה קלי ואנוהו zeh Keli v'anveihu, we beautify God. Why does it matter that my אתרוג esrog is beautiful? Why does it matter that my תפילין tefillin, my ספר תורה sefer Torah, that I light my candles on a beautiful candelabra? Why does all that matter? Because we appreciate it. וכן הכהן גדול ומלך ישראל צריכים להצטיין ביופי כדי שיכבדוהו כראוי V'chein hakohen gadol u'melech Yisrael tzrichim l'hitzta'yen b'yofi kedei she'yichabduhu karaui. The king had to get a haircut daily. The כהן גדול kohen gadol had to dress in fine clothing that is majestic, that's royal. Why? Bless you. Because people appreciate when they see, they honor, they understand. It's godly, it's royal, it's majestic. וזהו שאמר הקדוש ברוך הוא למשה V'zehu she'amar Hakadosh Baruch Hu l'Moshe. And this is what, this is the answer to the question. Says the מגיד יוסף Maggid Yosef, בגדי כהונה חייבים להיות לכבוד ולתפארת, שמוע על רחב יצחק, שכל כבוד, הדר מרה, הזלזול Bigdei kehuna chayavim l'hiyos l'chavod ul'sifares, she'muah al Rachav Yitzchak she'kol kavod, hadar marah, hazilzul. So when it comes to the people wearing it, when it comes to the people wearing it, they have to know, I stand for God, I'm the כהן גדול kohen gadol in a position of leadership. I represent God, I represent השם Hashem, I represent his wisdom. And one of the ways to bring people close is for them to see and admire and appreciate the aesthetic and the beauty. The כבוד ולתפארת kavod ul'sifares. זה מה, however, to the people who are manufacturing it, to the people who are making and producing the garment that will later be worn in order to represent and elevate, they have to be focused the כבוד kavod, לקדושה l'kedusha. לקדשו לכהנו לי L'kadesho l'chano li. And to have other מחשבות machshavos, פיגול pigul. To have some extraneous thought, \"Ooh, I'm the one making the clothing of the of the כהן גדול kohen gadol. Ooh, isn't it beautiful and majestic? Isn't it valuable and priceless?\" No. לקדשו ולכהנו לי L'kadesho ul'chano li. When we manufacture, and what we do it has to be for the purpose of the לקדשו לכהנו לי l'kadesho l'chano li. And then when we use it, it has to be the כבוד ולתפארת kavod ul'sifares. And this insight of the מגיד יוסף Maggid Yosef I would apply not just to the difference in the way the בגדי כהונה Bigdei Kehuna are depicted, but you could extend it beyond. When you go buy that beautiful, majestic kiddush cup. Couple years ago I bought myself a new beautiful kiddush cup. I'm very into שבת Shabbos, if you don't know, and the שבת Shabbos table, to have beautiful, beautiful items. The whole שבת Shabbos table is elevated. I'm not saying be ostentatious, and I'm not saying show off, and I'm certainly not saying buy beyond your means and go into debt with what you can't afford. There's a beauty to simplicity also. There's a beauty to that which is ornate and beautiful, and that which is shiny, and that which is valuable. Shows what we value. We elevate, we transform. So when you go buy that kiddush cup, it has to be לקדשו לכהנו לי l'kadesho l'chano li. I'm going to buy it not to show off. I'm going to buy it not to flex. I'm going to buy it not to be ostentatious. But when I lift that kiddush cup to make kiddush, out of a beautiful, beautiful kiddush cup which is so heavy, I can barely lift it in my hand. That's the כבוד ולתפארת kavod ul'sifares. רבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam, look how beautiful, look how majestic, look how amazing. שבת Shabbos, שבת Shabbos is what's amazing. And whether I have a packed full table, or whether I'm home all alone, I still use that same kiddush cup. Because it's the כבוד ולתפארת kavod ul'sifares. I'm turning and transforming that material into that which is holy for you. לכבוד ולתפארת L'chavod ul'sifares. So I thought this was a brilliant insight of why the difference of the בגדי כהונה Bigdei Kehuna, are they לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod ul'sifares, or are they לקדשו לכהנו לי l'kadesho l'chano li? It depends. One is addressing the Kohanim who would wear it, and the other was addressing those who would manufacture and produce it. Okay. Rav Reuven Feinstein, I also got in the mail, my good friend Lenny Friedman sent me the latest Rav Reuven Feinstein, נהר שלום Nahar Shalom, his commentary on the פרשה parsha, on ספר שמות Sefer Shmos. He sent me ויקרא Vayikra also, so be rest assured, I don't want anyone to worry as we're finishing up ספר שמות Sefer Shmos. ועשית בגדי קודש לאהרן אחיך לכבוד ולתפארת V'asisa bigdei kodesh l'Aharon achicha l'chavod ul'sifares. He quotes, Torah says בגדי כהונה bigdei kehuna which the sons of Aharon would wear must be לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod ul'sifares, glory and splendor. The Rosh Yeshiva זכר צדיק וקדוש לברכה zecher tzadik v'kadosh l'vracha, I assume when Rav Reuven Feinstein refers to the Rosh Yeshiva, he's talking about his father, Rav Moshe. He didn't say my father, Rav Moshe, אבי מורי avi mori, the Rosh Yeshiva. asked, if you think about it, the four garments mentioned here, the pants, the tunic, the sashes, and the turbans, that Hashem said should be made לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod ul'sifares, are four basic garments a person always wears. These are not extra things. This is not a description of the additional layers that we don't normally wear. So why if these are basic garments that people often or always wear, in what way is our ordinary clothing לשם ולתפארת l'shem ul'sifares? Accordingly, the clothing was also functioning to protect the kohen from being naked. Not only לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod ul'sifares. In other words, men who wore pants here today, why are you wearing pants? Why are you wearing pants? Everybody knows it's a horrific nightmare to wake up and you had a nightmare that you were in a public place and you forgot to put your pants on. Would you say, I am wearing my pants לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod ul'sifares. Do you know these are Lulu Lemon pants? These are, you know what I spent on these pants? Special pants, custom-made pants, לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod ul'sifares. No, I'm wearing pants because it's a בושה busha to be seen in public without pants. It happens to be that a lot of society today didn't get that memo. Happens to be, they never got the memo that it's a nightmare to be naked in public. For many, they think it's a dream, not a nightmare. But it's a nightmare. It's a nightmare to be naked in public. We should still, should still be a nightmare. I give us all a ברכה bracha for ourselves and our children. It should remain a nightmare. So what do you mean the clothing is לשם ולתפארת l'shem ul'sifares? לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod ul'sifares? The clothing is so it's not a בושה busha that I'm naked. אלא פירק דרך משה Ela peirek d'Rav Moshe. This was the question that the Rosh Yeshiva asked. So the answer he gave was that we need to understand the whole idea behind clothing. Before the sin of the עץ הדעת eitz hada'as, Adam and Chava could walk around unclothed without feeling any shame whatsoever. The notion of being unclothed in public and not noticing or feeling that's a dream, that is a reserved for the period of the of the גן עדן Gan Eden. When we were first created and the יצר הרע yetzer hara was not intrinsic, the יצר הרע yetzer hara was not internal, the יצר הרע yetzer hara was manifest in the נחש nachash in the snake, external, it was a voice outside ourselves, but we were pure, and all we had was the יצר הטוב yetzer hatov, and we were destined to have immortality, to live forever. So a person didn't notice they were naked. Because nakedness and the temptation that comes with it are all part of the יצר הרע yetzer hara. Freud argued and he wasn't wrong, that it is the most the strongest, the most fundamental יצר הרע yetzer hara that man struggles with is the יצר הרע yetzer hara for licentiousness, for promiscuity, for this area of life, which is where awareness of nakedness or unawareness of it comes from. They were perfect in every way and their behavior was as well, so they had nothing to hide and no reason to feel shame. On that level, appearing unclothed is not embarrassing. Doesn't call attention to anything negative. When doing the עבודה avodah, a kohen must ideally be on the level of Adam Harishon kodem hacheit. He should be so elevated and pure at that moment he could come before Hashem even if he were not wearing any clothing at all. His entire physical body, his מקום המילה makom hamila would be viewed only לשם שמיים l'shem shamayim, perfect and flawless, immortal. If a kohen would be on this level, regular items of clothing that Hashem commands him to wear are unnecessary to prevent embarrassment. The only reason to wear them is why? לכבוד ולתפארת L'chavod ul'sifares. Therefore, therefore, if it is only shame born of using our bodies the wrong way that creates the need for clothing. Now the יצר הרע yetzer hara becomes part of us, a great potential exists for us to sin. To appear naked is to expose us to the embarrassment of this potential corruption, and we're thus embarrassed to be in this state, forcing us to walk around clothed. So in other words, in גן עדן Gan Eden by the way, right after, in גן עדן Gan Eden, right after the sin of the חטא cheit, they eat of the עץ הדעת eitz hada'as. And Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, what did you do? All of a sudden, what's their first reaction? Adam and Chava turn to one another and what do they say? They say, did you feel that breeze? Something feel a little off? And Hakadosh Baruch Hu clothes them. It's a great act of חסד chesed. Why were they not, they weren't aware of their nakedness before? Only now do they feel shame and modesty and cover up. What happened? The answer is the יצר הרע yetzer hara was external and became internal. So it's a beautiful insight Rav Reuven quotes from his father. Said Rav Moshe, the clothing that we ordinarily wear and that we wear to cover our nakedness, not because of כבוד ולתפארת kavod ul'sifares, why is it called כבוד ולתפארת kavod ul'sifares? Because the idea is that the כהן גדול kohen gadol, the kohanim serving in the מקדש Mikdash, the kohanim should be on the level of Adam Harishon kodem hacheit. The kohanim are supposed to be back to that point of no יצר הרע yetzer hara. Kohanim are supposed to be living in that highest plane. So they have no need to wear clothing for anything other than לכבוד ולתפארת l'chavod ul'sifares. Rav Soloveitchik also writes on an insight here on these words. Says Rav Soloveitchik in the Rav Chumash. לכבוד ולתפארת L'chavod ul'sifares. He says people appointed by the public, such as government officials, have always worn uniforms. The post office people wear a uniform, the police wear a uniform, the army wears a uniform, uniforms. Uniform indicates that one wearing it holds an office, is endowed with authority. Even an absolute monarch wears a uniform to distinguish himself from the ordinary citizen. Leadership and distinction express themselves in distinctive garments. The dignity of man lies in his or her dress. Dignity, unlike other any other capability, must be planted into a person. If dignity is not part of his educational process, he will never possess it. Dignity does not come on its own. In a king or a ruler, personal capabilities or lack of them often go unnoticed, but lack of dignity is noticed, and a ruler that exhibits it is punished that is punished by the people. Clothing is an expression not of the intellect, but of the dignity of man. And uniforms imply that those donning them are specially selected by the people and are given certain privileges that others do not receive. There's a special aspect of humility that's indispensable to positions of power. One's authority comes not from within, but from without. Hashem wanted the kohen gadol to realize that he was undeserving of his position. When he wore his uniform, the kohen gadol recognized that he filled his role not due to his own merit, which were insufficient for anyone to assume such a high office. The same is true of a king, without donning his royal garments, he would not have the authority to act as a king. Moshe on the other hand required no special vestment in his position of leadership. His greatness was earned and not bestowed. So a very, very interesting insight the Rav says that when we wear clothing, we're wearing a uniform. And the purpose of a uniform, first of all, is to identify. Everyone wears a uniform. When we lived here many moons ago in Captiva, before the home we're in now, we had a neighbor across the street who no longer lives there, who was Jewish, not observant, and very eccentric. Had crazy tattoos and piercings and holes and all kinds of and often preached, we talk, we interacted and schmoozed about individual expression, not conforming, not needing to belong, being independent in her thinking, in her dress, in her everything, until one day she had a party. And I noticed that everybody who came over was also so independent that they all had the tattoos, the piercings, the whole. So they were wearing a uniform. And the uniform was independence and anti-establishment and everyone wears a uniform. Everyone wears a uniform. The question is which one of uniform you wear. So the uniform reflects who we with whom we want to identify. With whom we want to identify. Clothing do make the man. In many ways, the clothing does make the person. And you'll say, well, don't judge a book by the cover and just because I dress that way, why should you assume I am that person? The answer is if you don't want to be assumed that way, then don't dress that way. We identify with. Now they say dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Dress for the job that you want, not the job that you have. Who do you want to be? And how do you want to be perceived by others? So on the one hand, the uniform is a point of identity. But Rav Soloveitchik is saying so brilliantly that the uniform also has another purpose. The other purpose of the uniform is that we show, the uniform of power at least, that we show that the power is external, it's bestowed, it is a responsibility. It's not internal, it's not intrinsic, it's not necessarily earned. So by putting on the uniform, you're essentially putting on the power. When you take off the uniform or you lose the uniform, you have lost that power. It was never yours all together, it was bestowed upon you. It is borrowed, but never fully, but never fully owned. Okay, moving right along. The חושן and the איפוד choshen and the ephod. Right. This is when we begin to triage. 10:25, we have to enter the triage stage of our shiur. The חושן and the איפוד choshen and the ephod. But I don't want to triage. But I have to triage. פרק כח פסוק ד Perek Chaf Ches Pasuk Dalet. אלו הבגדים אשר יעשו, חושן ואפוד ומעיל וכתונת תשבץ Eilu habegadim asher ya'asu, choshen v'ephod u'me'il u'chsosnas tashbeitz. These are the vestments you make, the breastplate, the ephod, the robe, the tunic of box-like knit, turban and sash. תשבץ, מצנפת ואבנט ועשו בגדי קודש לאהרן אחיך ולבניו לכהנו לי Tashbeitz, mitznefes v'avnet v'asu bigdei kodesh l'Aharon achicha u'l'vanav l'chahano li. One of them is the חושן choshen and the איפוד ephod. This is what you have to make a breastplate and an ephod. What is the ephod? Like Rashi, what is the ephod? What does Rashi say? How does he define the ephod? איפוד, לא שמעתי ולא מצאתי בברייתא Ephod, lo shamati v'lo matzati b'braisa. I never found it described or elucidated exactly what it looks like. ולבי אומר לי v'libi omer li, but my heart tells me, says Rashi, שחגור מאחוריו she'chagur me'achorav, that this is the way it's tied. This is what it looks like. And here's an example, those who ride horses, they wear it. ליבי אומר לי Libi omer li. Am I allowed to ליבי אומר לי libi omer li that I don't want to keep Yom Kippur this year? ליבי אומר לי Libi omer li that I don't have to fast on Tisha B'Av this year? ליבי אומר לי Libi omer li that I could have the cheeseburger. What is Rashi? ליבי אומר לי Libi omer li. I don't know, doesn't say it anywhere. I don't know exactly what it means, but ליבי אומר לי libi omer li, my heart tells me that this is what it means. What do you mean my heart tells me that this is what it means? What do you mean my heart tells me this is what it means? So the answer is, what does it mean ליבי אומר לי libi omer li? ליבי אומר לי Libi omer li, Rav Soloveitchik says, means that when you have an intimate relationship with another, when you have an incredible closeness with another, when you are two halves who have become a whole, and your heart beats together with another, you can finish their sentence. And even when they're not around and someone says, I wonder what they want. I wonder what they would say. I wonder what they would think. You say, oh, nobody knows them like I know them. We're two halves of a whole. We think alike. We feel alike. Our heart beats as one, and I can finish that sentence. I can tell you what they want. When a person has earned that their heart beats with Torah and with Hashem, then you qualify as ליבי אומר לי libi omer li. There's a Torah intuition to know the רצון השם ratzon Hashem. Rav Soloveitchik gave a hesped for his uncle for the Brisker Rav, and he talked about the two relationships you could have with Torah. You could have אירוסין ונישואין eirusin v'nisuin. You can be engaged to Torah and you can be married to Torah. You know, the engaged couple, depends what community you're from. Some community, the engaged couple knows the other party fairly well. In some community, you're lucky if they still remember how to spell the other person's name. But there's a big difference between how well you know the person, how much you could finish their sentence when you're engaged versus when you're married. And there's an enormous difference. It's always so cute under the חופה chuppah, I do a lot of weddings. The חתן וכלה chosson v'kallah think they're in love under the חופה chuppah. It's so adorable that they think that they're in love. It's so adorable that they think that they know what love is. They think they know who they are. You don't know what love is until you've been through challenge and success, till you've celebrated, till you've mourned, till you've fought and had to reconcile and work it out, till you've navigated and compromised, till you've lived, you don't know what love is. But then you can finish the other person's sentence in a healthy relationship, in a beautiful and functional marriage, you can finish the other person's sentence. So the Rav developed this idea that there are those, they're barely dating Torah. There are those who never met Torah. There are those who even engage to Torah. But there are very few who are married to Torah. And he said his uncle was married to Torah. His uncle had an intuition and an instinct and when his uncle spoke about this is the רצון השם ratzon Hashem, he spoke with authority. And you can't begin to compare someone who has a casual relationship with Torah who says, \"I think this is the the truth,\" with somebody who lives and sleeps and breathes 24/7 Torah. You can't begin to compare somebody who's married to Torah, somebody who lives Torah. So the whole notion of ליבי אומר לי libi omer li. And who's qualified to say ליבי אומר לי libi omer li? My heart tells me. We live in a generation, this is true in secular topics. And all the more so it's true and dangerous in the world of Torah. You know, you Google and somebody had an interaction internet connection and a keyboard, so they wrote an article, \"This is my opinion,\" or \"This is the halachic conclusion.\" Then someone else finds that article and says, \"Oh, I follow this halacha.\" Who's that person? I don't know anything. Are they qualified, competent? I have no idea. Is it peer reviewed, so to say? No clue. Did you ever hear of, I don't know who they are, where they, I know nothing. But it says it on the internet, it must be true. Who qualifies as ליבי אומר לי libi omer li? Who are our גדולי ישראל Gedolei Yisrael? Who are our רבנים rabbanim? Who are our פוסקים poskim? Who are those who are married to Torah, they're not just engaged to Torah, they're not just dating Torah, they didn't just hear once about Torah, but they're married and they breathe and they live Torah. Who are the ליבי אומר לי libi omer li? Who are the ליבי אומר לי libi omer li? Of Nachman, Rav Nachman says, ונשא אהרן את שמות בני ישראל בחושן המשפט V'nasa Aharon es shmos bnei Yisrael b'choshen hamishpat. Skip to pasuk chaf tes. The same חושן choshen that we just spoke about. So Rav Nachman says, page 470. Aharon puts on the names of the Jewish people on this breastplate, and he wears it on his heart when he goes into the קודש kodesh. He wears it on his heart, the names of the Jewish people when he goes into the קודש kodesh. Rav Nachman Likutei Moharan, he writes, the reason that people are distant from Hashem, they're down and out, they feel helpless and hopeless, is because they're disconnected from Hashem. When a person feels that they're a creature of, they're a consequence of nature, when a person feels it's all up to them, they can feel sad, despondent, down and out. לא שמע משה מקוצר רוח ומעבודה קשה Lo shama Moshe mikotzer ruach u'mei'avoda kasha. So the way to get close again is to feel a connection to Hashem, is to feel happiness and joy, to know that everything's for a reason, everything's for a purpose, there's meaning and order to the universe. מה יעשה יהודי שמרגיש שאין לו תורה, אין לו תפילה Ma ya'aseh Yehudi she'margish she'ein lo Torah, ein lo tefilla? What should a Jew do who feels I don't have Torah, I don't have tefilla, I don't have anything. Who am I? What merits do I have? What hope do I have? What future do I have? Do you know how far I've fallen? And that's why I feel so down and out, and I can't feel any happiness and joy. Such a person who's struggling with this, so that Jew needs to know, don't ever forget where you come from. You're a Jew. Don't ever forget you come from, you're a prince, you're a princess, you're royalty. You're a child of Hashem. And that's what Aharon would wear. He wore on his breastplate the names of the Jewish people. He wore the Jewish people on his heart. That even no matter where you go, the guiding light, the compass that guides you. וראך ושמח בליבו V'ra'acha v'samach b'libo. Aharon looki, but Aharon wasn't jealous of his brother Moshe. He was happy for Moshe, even though Moshe was younger than he. And Moshe wasn't jealous of Aharon that he got to be the kohen gadol, even though he wanted that position. He was happy for Aharon that he got to get it. And that's where we find happiness, is when we can be happy for one another, and we can ride the coattails of one another, and we could see the success of one another. Then no matter what we're going through, no matter how we feel, it can lift. with us and it can enrich us and it can propel us. Okay, let's just finish with one last idea. One last idea. אוהל מועד Ohel Moed. One last idea. Even though we had so many more ideas, but one last idea. פרק כט פסוק מב Perek Chaf Tet, Pasuk Mem Beit. Turn the page. Turn two pages. 474. Last idea, stay with us. If you're watching online or listening later, I know we're at the end, but stay with us one more. כט מב Chaf Tet, Mem Beit. We'll make it worth your while. ועשה לאהל מועד Va'asah l'ohel moed, I'm sorry, פרק כט פסוק מב Perek Chaf Tet, Pasuk Mem Beit, keep going, is on page 480. Page 480.עולת תמיד לדורותיכם Olas tamid l'doroseichem. We spoke about the תמיד tamid, consistency, constancy, פרום קטן parum katan, the רמ\"א Ramah, the the most important פסוק pasuk. עולת תמיד לדורותיכם Olas tamid l'doroseichem. פסוק מב Pasuk Mem Beit. A continual elevation offering for your generations, פתח אהל מועד לפני השם pesach ohel moed lifnei Hashem, you bring it to the entrance of the אוהל מועד Ohel Moed before השם Hashem. Why? Why there? אשר אועד לכם שמה לדבר אליך שם Asher iva'ed lachem shama l'daber eilecha sham. Where I shall set my meeting with you to speak to you there. What's the root of the word אועד iva'ed? The same root as the word מועד moed. מועד Moed, every holiday, מועד moed, חול המועד Chol Hamoed, מועד moed, a מועד moed is an appointed time. We can have a rendezvous place and a rendezvous in time. And every מועד moed is a rendezvous in time. It's a מועד moed. אשר אועד לכם שמה Asher iva'ed lachem shama, I have appointed there to speak to you from there. I have appointed there to speak to you from there. What happened to Uncle Moshe? Who knows what I mean? Thank you. ברוך אתה ה' אלוקינו מלך העולם שהכל נהיה בדברו Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha'olam shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro.השם Hashem is here, השם Hashem is there, השם Hashem is everywhere. השם Hashem says, no, only there. I made a place for us, that's where we meet, that's where we connect, that's where we talk, that's where we go, that's where we are. What do you mean only there? אור החיים הקדוש Or Hachaim Hakadosh asked that question. פרעגט די אור החיים הקדוש Freigt di Or Hachaim Hakadosh, איזה נחיתות יש לו להודיענו שקיים מקום קבוע שממנו מדבר הקדוש ברוך הוא eizeh nechitus yesh lo l'hodi'anu she'kayam makom kavua she'mimenu medaber HaKadosh Baruch Hu? Why is that relevant? Why are we being told this here in our פרשה parsha? That we built it all and made it functional and השם Hashem said, good, let's meet in our usual meeting place because that's where I talk to you from. So רב שמואל בירנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, that's our ראש ישיבה של המיר Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir in Brooklyn, explained that this is a ראיה rayah, this is a מקור makor for מקום קבוע makom kavua. You have to know that if you want to connect with God, it can't be haphazard, and it's not casual, and you don't stumble upon it, and it's not by chance. It can't be an attitude that we have that right now, and convenient, and comfortable, and where I want, when I want. There's the notion of a מקום מיוחד makom meyuchad, of a מקום קבוע makom kavua. The preparation, designating, elevating, of having a special place, of having a special place. When we have a special place, when we create rituals and ceremonies around special places, then we change our attitude and atmosphere to what we do there. The bedroom should have certain rules and regulations, and the dining room table should have rules and regulations, and having a מקום קבוע makom kavua, so that when we enter that space, it's like a uniform is for our body, what the space is for our soul. It changes our attitude, our perspective, our demeanor, and what we're able to achieve and accomplish there. So השם Hashem says, you're not going to trip upon talking to me. Yes, השם Hashem is here, השם Hashem is there, השם Hashem is everywhere. Yes, we do התבודדות hisbodedus in the middle of the forest, and we do התבודדות hisbodedus by the lake, and we do התבודדות hisbodedus. Yes, that's all true. But if you want to achieve holiness and sanctity, you have to designate and you have to make special, and you have to have a seriousness to it, order and preparation to it. It has to be something which is a מקום קבוע makom kavua. And we see this in הלכה halacha, the גמרא ברכות כו Gemara Brachos Kuf Vav tells us we have to be קובע מקום לתפילתו kove'a makom l'tfilaso, following אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu, we designate a place to דאווען daven. So what is it talking about, קובע מקום לתפילתו kove'a makom l'tfilaso? So the רא\"ש Rosh in ברכות Brachos writes, קובע מקום לתפילתו kove'a makom l'tfilaso means a מקום קבוע בשול makom kavua b'shul. מעשי maisi, מעשי maisi. Now is not the time. What are the הלכות halachos? What governs and regulates מקום קבוע makom kavua? Can you kick someone else out of the seat? Does the seat mean that seat or any ד' אמות daled amos around that seat? You draw a circle, six feet, and anywhere six feet within that seat, that's still part of your seat? How long are you entitled to your מקום קבוע makom kavua? If you're late to שול shul, מניין minyan starts at 9, you get there at 9:22, you're still entitled to your מקום קבוע makom kavua? But all else being equal, and a seat is available to you, having a general area where that's my area. When I get into that space, I'm in my cockpit. I'm in my space. I'm in this central location. That's where it all happens. That's where I make it happen. So the רא\"ש Rosh says מקום קבוע makom kavua. But what I want to share with you, which was very relevant to me at the beginning of Corona in particular, is רבינו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah. רבינו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah in his commentary in the back of the גמרא ברכות Gemara Brachos says, מקום קבוע makom kavua doesn't mean in שול shul. The whole שול shul is a מקום קבוע לתפילה makom kavua l'tefillah. The whole שול shul is a place you דאווען daven. So it's okay, שחרית Shachris I sat in the front, מנחה Mincha I sat in the back. שבת Shabbos I sit on the side. Next week you sit over there. Wherever you find a seat in שול shul, it's fine. It's all מקום קבוע makom kavua because the whole מקום makom is קבוע לדאווענען kavua l'davening, says רבינו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah. So where is it talking about that you need a מקום קבוע makom kavua? In your house. In your home. You can't דאווען daven sometimes at this seat, sometimes the kitchen table, sometimes the dining room table, sometimes the recliner, sometimes while doing the dishes, sometimes while in the backyard, sometimes the... Says the רא\"ש Rosh, the מקום קבוע makom kavua, רבינו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah rather, says רבינו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah, the מקום קבוע makom kavua is in שול shul, is in home. That's where you need to establish a מקום קבוע makom kavua. The whole שול shul is a מקום קבוע makom kavua. So how do we פסק'ן pasken? The שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch quotes the רא\"ש Rosh that מקום קבוע makom kavua is a דין בשול din b'shul, not at home. However, it's brought down by many that we apply it to the home as well. And it applies both to men and I think even more to women who more often are דאווענען davening at home and not in שול shul. But the idea that when we create a קביעות kvius, a consistency, which is really the theme of our פרשה parsha, when we create consistency and seriousness, then we achieve higher and more lofty things. Then we're able to transform ourselves and our attitude. So קדוש ברוך הוא Kadosh Baruch Hu says, אועד לכם שמה iva'ed lachem shama, it's in our regular meeting place. Don't change our location. Don't adjust. Yes, you could talk to me anywhere, and yes, I'm listening everywhere, and yes, I talk to you everywhere. But if you really want to grow, you really want to elevate, you have to go to our usual place. So it's important to have a usual place. And I think within our homes it's very important, very important. Whether you have a שטענדער shtender in your house, or you have a corner in the house, or you have where you keep the סידורים siddurim in your house, a bookcase in the house, where is that place that when you're there, everyone else in the home knows, don't talk to mommy. Don't talk right to אבא Abba right now. They're דאווענען davening. They're going... that's their שול shul inside the house. רבינו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah uses that kind of לשון lashon. You create a שול shul inside your house, not a breakaway from the שול shul, and not an alternative to the שול shul, but it means in extenuating circumstances that you create that within the home, within the house itself. We left out a lot more but, ברוך השם Baruch Hashem we'll read פרשת תצוה Parshas Tetzaveh again next year. Have a fanta-
